Cats & Cat Health

Well I am back home again in New Zealand from England and what a journey that is! Whenever I go there I vow never to do that trip again until I can afford to travel Business class! It is 13,000 miles to the UK from here and that meant several long plane journeys:

First a 2 hour domestic flight and then a 26 hour flight to Heathrow with a 2 hour stop in Hong Kong. Its not very comfortable in a plane for 26 hours and you also end up with jet lag that lasts for a week or more.

When I got home from England after 3 weeks away Alfie, my cat, made it known that he did not appreciate my long absence. He came to me and purred then turned tail and grumbled for a while! The following day he had got over his irritation and spent a lot of time purring and making up for lost stroking. It wasn’t as if he was left alone in a cattery, he was at home with my husband the whole time.

I hate to put him in a cattery as he really doesn’t settle in there. They always tell me he was grouchy with them.

So what am I going to do next year when my husband retires and we want to travel more? It is really bothering me. Any ideas folks?

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Also just posted a really funny cat video. Its big cats, tigers, being teased by a cheeky monkey. This monkey is really getting a thrill out of taking a risk. Must be a young male! To see the video go to the cat videos tab at the top of the page.

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I was loaned a book during the Christmas break called “The Cat Whisperer or The Secret of How to Talk to Your Cat” by Claire Bessant. If you haven’t read it you should, you can pick it up at Amazon.com for less than $10 . Its full of stuff I didn’t know about my favorite animal, the cat.

For exampe do you know how to approach a cat that doesn’t know you? She says cats should not be touched or spoken to at close quarters immediately. You should let the cat come to you rather than going to it, because the cat needs to know you are safe. If you stand away from it and speak to it it will come to you. If it doesn’t it is a shy cat and you should let it be.

No wonder Alfie bolts when my friends arrive. They all bend down and try to make friends too fast!

She also tells you how to interpret cat body language and cat vocalization and how to understand the way your cat communicates via sight, touch, hearing, smell, taste. This makes it much easier to learn how to train your cat.

Another new one on me was that cats can’t hear low pitched voices easily. That’s why when you call your cat you should use a higher pitch. I think it might also be why cats often ignore men. With their low voices cats can’t really hear men very well.

One idea you can put to immediate use is how to tell your cat what it must not do, such as scratching your furniture or carpet. I always shout at my cat, but according to Bessant I should hiss. Cats understand a hiss but are simply scared by a shout. This is also why, unlike horses, they hate you blowing in their faces, it feels like a hiss.

I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it.

The Cat Whisperer

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Another cat tale in the news today. An English cat called Sgt.Podge, well he lives in England but is in fact a Norwegian Forest Cat, has his owner, Liz Bullard, well trained. Every evening at the same time he goes for a one and a half mile walk. In the morning, same time same place, Liz picks him up in her car.

Ms Bullard said: “If it’s raining he may be in the bush but he comes running if I clap my hands.” When she opens the car door he hops in for the ride home. “As long as you know where they are you don’t mind as a cat owner,” Ms Bullard said. “I know where to collect him - as long as he’s not wandering the streets.”

Why on earth has this 12 year old cat started this strange behavior? It all began a year ago when got lost and was found in this area. The elderly lady who found him fed him on sardines and it seems that Sgt.Podge is hoping for more treats.

Story from BBC NEWS

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In Japan they have managed to make mice totally unafraid of imminent danger, including the presence of a cat, by altering its ability to smell. It seems that fear is caused by the presence of certain odors. When put with a cat the mouse was more curious than fearful, even examining its ears and mouth!

“The scientists found that when they disabled the area of the brain that translates scents, the mice did not show fear when presented with smells such as rotting food or predators. A mouse with these receptors turned off was photographed playing with a kitten, sniffing a cat’s ear and playing with its collar. ” The photographer did say that they had to feed the cat before the photo was taken though!

Even so Alfie will kill mice when he has eaten quite well already. He just plays with them for longer before delivering the death blow. He actually brings them into the house and I always help the poor little things to escape by taking them outside again. These are not house mice but sweet little country mice. I doubt if they survive, they probably die of shock.

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By Kurt Schmitt

Here’s a collection of cat facts about one of the most important elements of cat behavior to understand, social behavior and interaction. I’ve tried to include facts that I think are helpful.

We often love cats for their independence. When they pay us some attention, we usually feel honored. A cat that asks for a belly scratch should be given your full attention.

Do you ever wonder what your cat is thinking? I do, all the time. I wonder why cats do what they do. Cats are a mystery, but a lot of their behavior can be understood if you know the reasons behind it.

As pet owners, one of our tasks is to learn how to better care for our cats. Below is a list of interesting cat facts that may help bring you and your little cat buddy closer together.

1. Leave me alone. Unlike dogs, domestic cats do not form packs. When forced to live closer to other cats than they normally would in the wild, cats will often time share their territory when possible.

2. A kitten’s tendency to be friendly and sociable comes from two sources; genetically, primarily from the father’s genes, and behaviorally, primarily from learning to be sociable from their mother.

3. When a kitten is between two and seven weeks old is the most important time to instill proper socialization.

4. Cats can go through a second socialization process when recovering from a trauma. This can go two ways, resulting in either more friendliness, or less friendliness than before the trauma.

5. Domestic cats have a limited set of body language skills. This is because their ancestors were solitary animals.

6. In order to make up for a limited set of communication skills, cats need to use scent markings to send and receive messages. They also need to be fast and agile!

7. Your cat will rub her scent glands all over her territory in order to leave her mark. She’ll also rub her scent on you and other animals in the house. This creates a communal scent indicating that these animals are part of her social group.

8. When you scratch your cat’s back, she raises up her back end so as to better scent your hand. Commonly, cats will also often keep their tails bent but stiff during the scenting process.

9. A tail held vertically is a greeting, and an indication of happiness. If you had a tail, your cat would probably appreciate it since he’d better understand your mood.

10. If the front paws are curled up and tucked in, your cat feels comfortable and safe. A relaxed cat will often also extend the back feet out to the side while tucking in the front paws.

Hopefully, at least some of these cat facts surprise you. If you read between the lines, most will allow you to better understand cats. Now, go communicate with your kitty!

Author Kurt Schmitt writes more about interesting cat facts at the web site for cat lovers.

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Have you ever seen a cat enjoying a catnip plant? We planted one in our garden a couple of years ago and Alfie loves it. Luckily only one neighbourhood cat seems to have discovered it, and as he is a senior cat Alfie stands back for him! But when I am with him he relaxes and concentrates on the cat nip experience. What is it that makes catnip so much more exciting than say mint? Our mint is growing right next to the catnip but all he does is sniff it. The catnip sends him into a paroxysm of delight. He eats it, he sniffs it, rubs it on his fur. If I pick it for him he almost scratches my hand in his eagerness to get hold of it. Only 60% of cats enjoy catnip and I am glad that mine is one of them. Strangely Australian cats do not have the gene for it but New Zealand do.

“When cats sense the bruised leaves or stems of catnip, they may roll over it, paw at it, chew it, lick it, leap about and purr, often salivating copiously. Some cats will also growl and meow. This reaction only lasts for a few minutes before the cat loses interest. It takes up to two hours for the cat to “reset” after which it can come back to the catnip and have the same response as before. Young kittens and older cats are less likely to have a reaction to catnip.” (Wikipedia) The part that cats find irresistible is thought to be actinidine. ( Wikipedia)

Catnip is a small hardy perennial plant with gray-green serrated leaves that smell a little like mint. The plant thrives in a moist, well-drained soil and can be raised from seed, cuttings or by dividing the mature plants. Either they can be planted out in a sunny yet sheltered spot in the garden or you could put them into pots.

Other plants that also have this effect on cats include valerian. I discovered this by accident when I was taking a couple of valerian tablets to help me sleep. Alfie went crazy and searched everywhere around me frantically for the source of the delicious odor! When he found it he had to get at it! If your cat is around when you take valerian wear gloves-you have been warned!

If you want a gift for your cat this Christmas why not plant catnip in your garden or in a pot if your cat is an indoor cat?

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Do you keep your cat indoors? I know that this is a controversial topic, especially in the USA. I just found out why cats are kept inside here and it all seems to spring from a very successful campaign waged by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) in 1997.

ABC said that“free-roaming cats are exposed to injury, disease, parasites and collisions with cars, and can get lost, stolen or poisoned. Cats can also transmit diseases and parasites such as rabies, cat-scratch fever and toxoplasmosis to other cats, wildlife or people. “

But you know I can’t help thinking that taking advice about cats from a bird fancier may be a little unsafe.

As well as killing birds cats keep down the population of small animals that also damage bird life, like rats and mice which take bird’s eggs. Ok I am not saying that this equals out because I have not seen any research on it so far.

But I do know that you can get cat collars that warn a bird when the cat pounces. These collars emit a sound and flash a light so the bird is warned and can take off in time. We are using this type of collar which I bought from my vet, and it seems to work.

Liberator collars consist of a battery , a small microchip printed circuit and an audio-visual alarm triggered by the cat launching itself at a bird.

The collars are fitted with a timer to cut short audio output on such occasions as when a cat is scratching around its collar, triggering the alarm.

You can get them here:

Liberator Collar Australia

Liberator Collar UK

I can’t find a supplier in the USA probably because so few cats are allowed out that demand is low.

I know that there are places where a cat might be in danger from roads. I still think the cat would prefer to live a shorter but happier life.Being in prison only able to watch the world from a window in not kind to cats.

Maybe just don’t have a cat if it is unsafe where you live. Maybe get a dog, a rabbit, a pet mouse or some other type of pet. Don’t mean to offend you but I think we should not deny a cat the freedom to live a happy and natural life. Would you want to be kept in prison?

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This last few weeks we have a blackbird who is staking out his territory right outside our downstairs bathroom. He has been having a fine old time attacking his reflection in the window! I am surprised the glass is till intact since he flies at it over and over again. The first morning it woke me and I thought one of our neighbors must be using a staple gun.

We tried to get rid of the reflection for this crazy bird by hanging a huge fern leaf on the outside. That works but it keeps falling off. Not sure what to do next!

Anyway while we were away for the weekend our cat- Alfie must have heard this racket and went to see what was going on. He pushed his way through the bathroom door but he couldn’t open it again and had to stay in the bathroom until we returned. Poor little puss! He must have been in there at least 24 hours because our next door neighbor had left his food for Sunday in his dish but it hadn’t been touched.

He didn’t even make a mess on the floor which is amazing- though with no food I suppose that is understandable. He was very pleased to see us back again. So next time we will make sure all doors are either firmly shut or firmly open.

In case you think that we shouldn’t leave him on his own we have tried putting him in a cattery and he hated it and told us off good and proper when we picked him up. He is an outdoor/indoor cat with his own cat flap and our neighbor feeds him every day. He is much less traumatized by this than by being sent to prison at the cattery.

For longer trips we get a house sitter, so puss is very well cared for and cared about.

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In the news this week is Oscar a cat who it appears can tell when someone is going to die. Oscar lives at a hospice and it seems that when someone is dying he will be found sitting by them. They say he just about always get this right and has been at the bedside of more than 25 residents shortly before they died. Dr. David Dosa of Brown University in Providence has written this up in the New England Journal of Medicine.

What can we make of this? Is OscarPsychic ? Well I doubt it. It could be, as others have suggested, that the smell that a person emits during the dying process is attractive to cats or to Oscar in particuar. Maybe he was treated kindly in the past by a dying person and has grown to associate the smell with comfort.

They say this cat isn’t friendly and will snap if people approach him. Maybe he has had to protect himself, since he has always lived in a dementia unit. So another possibility is that a dying person will leave him alone.

What do you think?

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